Immortalis Vinculum
by Obsidian-Blood
Summary: When there is nothing left to fight for except your own self worth, when the only open path leads to strength, what use is immortality? two souls seach for the answer. HidanXSakura
1. Encounter!

Okay guys, here we go!  
now i've read quite a few Sakura X Hidan stories and absolutely love the ida of the pairing,  
now i know its completely crack buuuut here is crack taken seriously!

This story is somewhat AU in that it branches away from the Manga after chapter 319,  
so the whole Hidan and Kakuzu thing never happened and the only dead Akatsuki is Sasori.  
Time lapses and such will be explained just bear with me.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If i did Itachi would have won.**

* * *

**Encounter!**

ANBU VS Akatsuki!

His footsteps were silent, his great black robe did not even whisper in the breeze. Not a soul would have known of his passing into the borders of Fire Country, that is, of course, if it weren't for…

'Aw well fuck this!' he near enough shouted to the poor trees surrounding him. 'Another pointless fucking mission, I think that bastard is just tryin' to get rid of me, not one step in base before I'm fucking sent right back out, mother-fucker, I should send him straight to Jashin-sama…'

Hidan paused momentarily in his tirade as he felt a distant chakra spike, violet eyes immediately darting to the east. However it was gone almost as quickly as it came and so he dismissed it, subconsciously running a hand over his slicked back silver hair, and resumed his rant.

'And as for fucking Kakuzu, that money worshiping bastard…'

* * *

Almost five miles away ANBU team 5 stopped rather abruptly as their leader, ANBU Wild Cat, drew to a sudden halt.

'What's the problem' asked ANBU leopard hesitantly, glancing fleetingly around the clearing for the sudden cause of their leaders tense stance.

'I thought I sensed something, about five miles west'

'Well I can't feel anything' ventured ANBU leopard, his two fellows seemed to throw him withering looks behind their masks; they all knew their captain was sensitive to chakra.

'None the less, I will go and check it out, just to be on the safe side.' ANBU Wild Cat then proceeded to remove a scroll from their robes handing it to ANBU Wolf. 'You three will carry on with the mission, return the scroll to Hokage-sama and inform her of my detour. I should be back shortly. Go now, do not stop, and above all ensure the safety of the scroll.'

'But what abou-'

'That is an order.' Barked their captain.

'Hai!' cried the three ANBU in unison.

With this ANBU Wild Cat jumped into the nearest tree. Cloaking their respective chakra signatures the two factions moved off silently into the forest, one heading west as the other three proceeded north to Konohagakure.

* * *

He was being watched.

He didn't know how he knew. He just did.

'Well that makes a lot of fucking sense, doesn't it' he muttered.

While keeping his pace through the dense foliage Hidan sent out his awareness yet again finding nothing, if someone truly was trailing him they were obviously highly skilled at hiding their chakra. '_Fucking brilliant' _he thought ruefully as all hopes of an easy mission proceeded to fly out the window.

Resigned to either partaking in a battle or looking like a complete idiot to all watching animals and foliage Hidan stopped in his tracks turning to look behind him at where his suspected stalker was probably hiding.

'I know you are there, so fucking come out ass hole, or I'll fucking make you!' he shouted hoping that he wouldn't have to subsequently add severe paranoia to the list of many other psychological issues that were sure to leave any good psychiatrist reeling.

About three meters to the right of the bush that he had just been shouting, and glaring furiously, at a figure appeared seemingly from nowhere.

Just by looking at the shinobi before him Hidan surmised that he was standing before a Konoha ANBU, the white body armour and cat-like mask being a dead give-away in his eyes. The altogether shapeless clothing and hair covering hood made it impossible for him to gage anything other than the ANBU's station and village which to him, being one who liked to torment his opponents, was a bit of a fun killer.

'I am ordered to kill all members of your organisation on sight, however, if you leave Fire County now without any argument or violence I will allow you to return to the border in peace. Should you choose to reject this offer I will engage you in battle resulting in your forced removal from our country.'

Voice made hollow by the presence of the mask the ANBU spoke without hesitation or pause, which Hidan found to be a rather brave thing to do in light of the fact that they were clearly alone.

'Intend to 'forcefully remove' me all by yourself, do ya? Heh. I'd like to see you fucking try!' he growled, swinging his large three bladed scythe from his back.

'I will no doubt do more than try' the ANBU stated casually while removing a scroll from their hip-pouch.

He took a moment to appraise his weapon, forefinger gliding over the tip of the third blade. Flicking his eyes up he glared into the mask of the ANBU; changing into an offensive stance he raised his scythe before him.

'Devine judgement awaits, heathen!'

The large scythe tore into the ground where the ANBU stood seconds ago, only to be pulled back roughly by its long rope in time to deflect the sudden rain of kunai, shuriken and various other sharp implements falling upon the now irate Akatsuki member. As the last kunai fell the ANBU appeared again rapidly forming hand seals and discarding the now used scroll.

**_Fūton__: hayai-ken no Jutsu! _**

The air between them began to change, moulded by the ANBU's technique, sending peircing winds towards him at greater speeds than he could easily dodge, Hidan backflipped into the trees behind him. He landed awkwardly due to the large wound, newly opened. His right leg was now spilling his blood at, what would to normal people be, an alarming rate.

'That fucking hurt!' he cursed loudly throwing several shuriken equipped with exploding tags down towards his opponent.

Retuning to the ground now that the ANBU had been forced to end the Jutsu due to Hidan's exploding projectiles he cursed again upon seeing that, not only had they again avoided his attacks but the ANBU was not sporting a single cut or graze.

'Jashin dammit!'

At this seemingly inane comment the ANBU paused noticeably, glancing briefly at the Akatsuki member as though confused, however this was soon broken as the scythe one again came soaring forward, taking advantage of the momentary lapse of concentration.

Dodging just in time the ANBU once more managed to avoid the triple bladed weapon by jumping to the right, immediately throwing two shuriken mid-jump and forming yet more hand seals.

_**Kage bunshin no Jutsu! **_

Two clones appeared on either side of the ANBU both bringing their right fist to the ground in a devastatingly powerful chakra enhanced punch. The centre ANBU jumped into the air sending a handful of poison coated senbon needles soaring towards the Akatsuki member as a great fissure parted the ground from the power of the clones punch, forcing Hidan into the air. He managed to deflect all but one of the needles which punctured the skin of his left shoulder, albeit only shallowly.

'_Aw fuck!' _thought Hidan angrily, the fight was _not_ going the way he intended and although his wounds were in no way slowing him, he simply wished to end the battle quickly.

The ANBU landed nimbly between the two clones dismissing them with a puff of smoke. Upon landing Hidan sent forth several shuriken subtly guiding them closer as he again sent his scythe forth to intercept. This time the ANBU was not quite so lucky as, although they managed to dodge all the shuriken easily, the battle was now over in Hidan's eyes for he had at last managed to draw blood. Just a small and shallow cut to the elbow of the right arm, but it was all he needed. Drawing back the scythe triumphantly he brought the middle blade, now stained with blood, before him and proceeded to lick the red liquid from its surface.

Almost in morbid fascination the ANBU stood frozen to the spot watching as he ingested the last drop of the blood. Then the Akatsuki member began to change. Skin once a porcelain white faded to the darkest shade of ebony emblazoned with pale skeletal markings. At his feet he used the butt of his scythe to draw a large symbol from his own blood, taken from the wound in his leg, an equilateral triangle encased within a circle…the symbol of the Death God, Jashin.

'The ritual is at last ready! Prepare for your sins to be cleansed in pain and your soul to be sacrificed unto my Lord Jashin-sama!' Hidan called out almost reverently as he plunged his scythe into his own body, blades protruding from his back, he proceeded to tear downwards as if to cut himself in two.

Blood pooling at his feet, a guttural sound, almost a cross between pleasure and pain was ripped from his thoughts as his life essence dripped from the corners of his smiling mouth. The ANBU member fell to their knees with a surprised and pained grunt, the effects of the Jutsu clearly taking their toll.

And then he flinched.

It was not the pain of his, seemingly life threatening, wounds that caused this reaction, but instead the most peculiar sound that permeated the air.

Glancing down at the crouched form of the Konoha ANBU, arms crossed protectively over their abdomen, where his jutsu would have replicated the wounds of his own body, he found the source of the strange sound.

The ANBU was _laughing._

All Hidan could do was stare as the ANBU stood slowly, reaching up they then proceeded to remove their mask and hood.

Before him stood a Kunoichi.

A Kunoichi with pink hair.

A Kunoichi with pink hair, who was _smiling_ at him as blood seeped from the corners of her mouth.

Dropping her Cat-like mask the Kunoichi reached beneath the neckline of her clothes and brought out a rosary, from the rosary hung the one thing that Hidan least suspected to see in anyone's possession other than his own.

An (upside-down) equilateral triangle held within a circle.

The symbol of Jashin-Sama,

An exact replica of his own.

…

…

…

'WHAT THE FUCK!'

* * *

**_Note: ''Fūton: hayai-ken no Jutsu!''_**

**I made this one up, Roughly translates to: Wind: swift blade technique **

I would like to thank my wonderfull Beta readers,

Kelso the great. ish  
and  
Belizma-chan


	2. Truth!

Well hello again everyone,

first off i would like to appologise for the lateness of this chapter!

hides

i do fully intend to finish this story so bear with me through the many chapters to come,

no matter how long it takes i'm in it for the long haul and i hope you will be too!

**Disclaimer: i do not own Naruto or any of the characters _..._**_ if i did Hidan would have escaped..._

* * *

Truth!

A Past Revealed!

Every time she had to put on that mask, every time she made someone believe she was happy she lost a little bit of herself until one day she knew all that would be left was an emptiness so great it would swallow her.

She was unsure of when it had begun, it had not simply appeared one day, this feeling. It had built up over the years through countless rejection and inner turmoil. It seemed that it had become second nature to hide her true feelings deep within leaving them to be picked over by her inner self, while to all those who saw her and her smiling easy going attitude passed her by unconcerned.

Passed her by.

Just as everyone ever had…

that's right, She was the weak link. Never worthy of appraisal, forever standing to the side as her team mates battled on furiously, through physical pain and through the boundaries set before them, leaving such unsubstantial things in the dust, for they were Team Kakashi. The team of protégés. power and skill forming what would become a vital piece of the Konoha puzzle and yet… It was never her.

There was the Infamous copy-ninja, master of 1000 jutsu, number one assassin. There was the Kyuubi Jinchuriki, so powerful and loyal, burning his kindness and friendship into the minds of those he met. There was the silent artist, with skill and flawless tactic a true and fierce shinobi to be reckoned with, proud replacement of the youngest Uchiha whose clan and abilities were stuff of legend.

And then finally, there was the Kunoichi with strange pink hair and medical skills.

Still, she was the one no one remembered, the kunoichi who stood back and watched, wishing with all her heart to be of use somehow. And it was crushing her.

True she had grown over the years, she had her strength and healing abilities but she could never compare to those who stood ahead of her, her team mates who she longed to walk beside as equals.

She felt so alone sometimes, with no one to truly confide in, for she knew that no one would ever understand. It had always been her wish to become a shinobi, ever since she had first looked out and saw a group of Jonin walking proudly through the village with such grace. They looked so deceptively at ease and yet she could tell that they were fully aware of even the slightest thing out of place. She had begged her civilian parents to allow her to enter the Academy and had finally succeeded.

Thinking back on that fateful decision for the first time in years and remembering the longing that she had felt back then her resolve hardened.

Simply idly wishing for equality of power was no longer enough.

* * *

Over the following years Sakura went on missions with her team as usual, however everyone had noticed her growing absence from social gatherings and events. Truth be told, the only time her once close friends saw Sakura anymore was when on missions, training ruthlessly with anyone who would teach her or on the odd occasion, deep within the Konoha Library bent over old medical scrolls lost within their texts. Their concern for her well being was apparent to Sakura but she would simply brush aside their questions with a smile telling them she was 'working on something' or 'busy with medical research' and this seemed to placate them to a degree.

What her friends didn't know was that these were not the only places that Sakura now spent her free time, for she had been regularly leaving the village to visit a clearing deep within the dense forest to conduct her own training. Sometimes she would spend prolonged periods out in the clearing, and so over time had built a rudimentary shelter, enclosed within a genjutsu so as not to be seen by anyone other than herself. Within the shelter she stored only the barest essentials; a small cot, various food supplies, some of her more important training scrolls and medical equipment, safe in the knowledge that they would lie undisturbed in her absence.

* * *

By simply being known as the Hokage's apprentice Sakura had been allowed gradual access to some of the more restricted areas of the immense Library in which some of the more powerful, complicated and occasionally forbidden scrolls that had been stored. This allowed her to gain a greater understanding of both medical and physical techniques than Tsunade had ever dared to teach her. In fact, Sakura began to believe that some of the scrolls that she studied and learned from were so old that they had been left off the more recent records on occasion finding them tucked away in the odd nook or cranny of the lofty underground rooms where they would have been easily missed. Whenever she found such a scroll she would quickly skim through its contents, and if it proved interesting she would promptly shove it unceremoniously into her bag, well aware that if caught she would be severely reprimanded.

It was on one such occasion, in a particularly old and dusty section that she had not yet visited, where she stumbled upon the one thing that had the premise to change her entire life. She had been carrying an overly large bundle of quite promising looking medical scrolls back to her bench when the precarious pile that she was balancing tipped sending the top most articles rolling away under the nearest set of shelves.

Heaving a sigh of frustration Sakura deposited those that had stayed in her arms atop the nearest table and dropped to her hands and knees searching blindly under the wooden structure for the elusive literature.

After a few moments of running a hand along the dust and grime covered floor she grinned widely in triumph as her hand fell upon something solid, however her grin faltered somewhat into a look of confusion as she realised that what she felt was in no way scroll shaped, but rectangular.

Cautiously she pulled the object out into the dim light. Comprehension dawned as she realised she was looking down at a rather small, black, leather bound book.

Although it was in no way odd to find a book in a Library, this entire section was solely devoted to scrolls, and had been for as long as the records went back. Even odder than this she noted, was the fact that the book held no title on either cover or the spine, instead there was a rather faded symbol where the main title should have been. As she held the cover in the direction of the light the symbol grew clearer, upon the old and torn leather was embossed the flaking image of an upside down equilateral triangle encased within a circle.

Carefully cradling the small book in her hands, so as not to damage it, she opened it at random to find slightly dog-eared, off-white pages that held not a single mark. Flipping from front to back it was immediately clear that all of the pages were indeed blank. Although she could sense no chakra from the book she performed a number of both simple and complex unbinding jutsu to no effect.

Deciding the simple tome to be quite worthless she stood, intending to return the book to its dank hiding place when the glint of the symbol caught her eye, immediately filled with a strange sense of intrigue she somehow knew that there was more to the book than met the eye. Forgetting the medical scrolls strewn across her bench and the floor she slipped the book into her bag and promptly headed to her small forest shelter to clear her mind and puzzle over the book afresh.

* * *

**As always I would like to thank my wonderfull Beta reader,**

**Kelso the great. ish**

**i'm sorry its so short but it was needed information,**

**more of Sakura's past is to come later but this is all you get for now!**

**O-B**

**x**


	3. Compromise!

hello again everyone,  
i know its been a while, yet again...and i appologise yet again!  
trust me though when i say that i intent to stick with this story till the end,  
have faith!

i really enjoyed writing this chapter, hope you all approve of the first complete meeting.

**Disclaimer: i do not own Naruto or any of the characters _..._**_ if i did Hidan would have his own past montage..._

* * *

Compromise!!

Crossing of Paths!

'WHAT THE FUCK'

Slowly he sunk to his knees hands clenched into tight fists by his side.

Hidan stared…for the first time that he could remember he was silent as hundreds of questions rushed through his mind. There were no words to convey the shock he was currently feeling at the revelation that he was not alone in his worships.

'H…how…?'

'What the fuck is going on?!'

As the shock began to dissipate his outrage took over, shaking himself of all else he rose, pulling the pike from him with only a slight flinch, and began to advance on the ANBU.

As he advanced on her the ANBU remained where she stood, showing no regard for any personal danger, but of course, he thought, there was little he could truly do if his assumptions were correct.

And he was about to test these assumptions until he was satisfied with a complete answer.

She could tell hat she had shocked the man before her with her true identity, she watched as a torrent of emotions passed rapidly through his features, calculating her next move. Her secret had been revealed, usually this would be easily taken care of with her opponents imminent demise, however this was no longer an option as it seemed she had finally found an opponent that would not die at her hand, not by any gap in skill or strength but by the fact that he, like her, was invulnerable.

* * *

She would be lying to herself if she didn't say she was equally surprised, at least at first, by the existence of another Jashinist but this surprise soon wore off as she put all of the pieces together in her mind. As was standard issue to all ANBU's Captains, Sakura had been briefed on all known members of the Akatsuki. Among them she remembered a mostly unknown male who was said to be invulnerable to all physical harm, known only as Hidan, so it would seem that all along this unknown had been her counterpart.

He was advancing on her now, with a look that told her that he meant more than harm. All of her senses told her to evade him or to counter but she chose neither option.

'Hidan of the Akatsuki'

She stated matter-of-factly, he paused, surprised that she would address him and perhaps that she knew his name,

'I am Haruno Sakura'

Hidan looked at her, confusion apparent, _at least_, she thought, _he forgot about killing me._

'What the fuck is that supposed to mean, huh, bitch?' He said once again moving forward, twirling his pike in a threatening motion.

Okay, maybe he didn't forget about the killing thing… right, lets fight fire with fire.

'Its my name you jack-ass, now give it a fucking rest, you know you won't be able to kill me, see?!' She motioned to the blood stained patch of her front where Hidan's voodoo-jutsu had done its work.

'Fuck that, you could have tricked me, I need more fucking proof!'

'Oh, so you know a way of negating the jutsu do you? Because as far as I know, after years of using it myself, its infallible! You want more proof though, fine, ill give you some shall I?' She knew she was going too far, letting him goad her anger as no one had in years, but she had given up caring. She reached down to her hip pouch and removed a kunai. Raising it in her right hand she brought up her left wrist and struck. The Kunai pierced the flesh easily as she drew the point from her wrist to her elbow leaving a gaping wound in its wake.

She didn't flinch as she yanked it free of herself and threw it to the ground, nor did she bother to staunch the extensive bleeding as it had already begun to heal, the pain was great but she revelled in it for a split second, drawing a strange comfort in the knowledge that it could not threaten her life as it would any other. The searing slowly faded as the flesh began to knit itself back together. After observing the wound she looked up.

He had drawn closer, a mere three meters away, but his eyes were fixated on her arm and the wound she had just inflicted upon herself, his pike limp in his arm.

He must have felt her eyes upon him as he altered his gaze, their eyes met for a second and something passed between them. Sakura was unsure what exactly but it told her he would not try to kill her again, it told her he was aware of her pain yet ignorant of it at the same time, it told her that in some way, twisted and somewhat indecipherable, he _understood_.

Then he coughed and the moment was lost.

After a second reality seemed to re-assert itself to Sakura's slightly confused mind and she realised that if she did not return to Konoha soon a search party would eventually be sent out. She had told her team that she would return shortly and had already spent far too long to simply be scouting. An explanation would be required and unless the current situation was sorted out in some way that was mutually beneficial her secret, that she had worked so hard to keep, would undoubtedly be revealed.

Her best option now was to compromise with Hidan.

'Yeah, this should be easy…'

'No one in Konoha knows about this...' she gestured to her pendant and them both in general, making it obvious that she was referring to her Jashinism.

_Sure he could use it against me, but if he were captured they would probably find out from him anyway_.

'And why, in Jashin's name, should I give a shit about that?'

_Or maybe he is too stupid._

'Because, you idiot, that would mean I would rather not take you back there as a hostage in case they figure it out!'

'Yeah, right, like I could be your fucking hostage'

'That's not the bloody point!' she shouted.

This was becoming increasingly difficult for Sakura, his 'don't give a damn' attitude was starting to draw on her anger, her control was slipping, and that could be dangerous, not only to the vegetation near by but also her emotional welfare. Control was key to her new persona, and she had to re-establish it.

Deep breath Sakura…

'Okay, tell me what you want in fire country, what is your mission objective, if it is not detrimental to our well being I will leave you, sound good to you, you arrogant bastard?'

'Heh, and what if I didn't want to tell you, hmmmm?' he slowly swung the pike in his hand in a lazy ark, feigning disinterest in the conversation. However his eyes told her he was intrigued by her offer, and then something seemed to change.

'What does it matter if those Konoha brats find out about you anyway, eh? Jashin should be worshiped openly, not by some weak coward, afraid of those who can be crushed in an instant! Fucking weak heathen bastards, Jashinists are too good for the likes of them.'

She was surprised at his outburst, he spoke of an oppression she felt daily. This made her wonder if he had gone through something similar and brought to mind all of her thoughts of escape and freedom. However, her sense of loyalty to the village that raised her and all she cared about was still, as ever at the forefront of her mind. It would surely take something drastic to ever convince her to break those bonds and flee.

'That may be so, but it is my village and I remain loyal, now tell me your business here'

She could tell she was getting nowhere and sighed softly to herself,

…_please'_

She did not mean to add the please, it was an afterthought yet she could tell from Hidan's reaction it was a word he was unfamiliar with, he seemed surprised that she would request rather than demand the information as was common among shinobi.

'Well fuck it, it isn't that important anyway, our bloody _leader_ wanted me to get some information on the whereabouts of the Kyuubi brat or some shit, he already knows its in Konoha, the bitch is just being anal about it'.

This didn't surprise Sakura, she had inferred as much, it was common knowledge that the Akatsuki were after the tailed beasts, what did surprise her however was Hidan's attitude towards his own leader, he seemed to spit out the word as tough it left a foul taste in his mouth. She decided to keep this information stored in her memory for a later date where it could perhaps prove useful to her.

'So what do you intend to do now?' she asked in a neutral tone.

'Heh, good question. Not got a clue. Was gonna just wonder around for a while. Fight a few shinobi then go back with fuck all!'

'Surely your leader would not be too happy with no results'

'Like I give a shit!'

'Well, fair enough then, you fought me and have presumable already wondered about a fair bit considering how far into the country you have come, wouldn't that mean your mission is done?'

'Hahaha, smart fucking Kunoichi aint ya? But I guess you are right enough, I may as well go back to base. I did after all get some interesting information, information that our _leader_ would love to possess….' His smirk at this point turned sinister and Sakura's blood ran cold as her body tensed, that she could not allow.

But then he winked.

'And for that very reason, I'm not gonna fucking tell him!'

There was a shocked pause.

Sakura could not help but laugh at the absurdity of it, as her adrenaline faded and she relaxed again, this laugh was not like her last, this one was freer and lively as it portrayed her release of tension and amusement at Hidan's odd personality.

Hidan smiled.

Just for a second, but she saw it.

And what worried her most was that she liked it.

For the second time she had to remind herself where she was and what she was doing. She had to get back to Konoha, and now that she knew Hidan would be leaving the area she felt that it was a good idea to go as soon as possible, she could already be marked for treason just for talking to him, never mind letting him go…

'I had best head back to Konoha, if I delay any longer a search party will be sent, I suggest you leave the vicinity quickly just in case, I would rather my comrades not die at your hand today…'

'Yeah, well in that case, see you round bitch'

'It's Sakura, you bastard!'

'Sure, sure…'he smirked and then he was gone, a blur speeding through the trees.

Sakura turned in the opposite direction and jumped towards the nearest tree branch.

'Well that was certainly interesting, time to head back and try to explain this in a way that won't get me into trouble…'

* * *

**thanks for reading!  
as always reviews are appreciated  
as well as critique~!**

**O-B**

**x**


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